


In Which Meir Kahane Gave Magneto a Bloody Nose, Part 3

by seekingferret



Series: In Which Meir Kahane Gave Magneto a Bloody Nose [3]
Category: Post-Biblical Jewish RPF, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Gen, anti-Semitism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-14 11:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1263901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingferret/pseuds/seekingferret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What it says on the tin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Meir Kahane Gave Magneto a Bloody Nose, Part 3

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ariadnes_string](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariadnes_string/gifts).



> The only Archive Warning is for violence, but that does not mean one should go in unwarned. As the title suggests, this is a story about anti-semitism and racism and communal in-fighting, and may very well be an uncomfortable read.

An hour before the lecture, Mystique mingled in the street among the Kahanists as a Brooklyn bokhur in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She examined the baton that had been put in her hand with a certain amount of perverse delight. It had serious heft, and no metal at all. Magneto would be left to his own devices today.

"Nu, khaverim," Kahane finally shouted. "It's time to move. On three, what did Shimshon say?" He counted to three and then as one they shouted "Shibbolet". Mystique knew she was busted.

As the nearest of the Kahanists, a redheaded thirty year old with a Star of David tattoo on his left arm, shouted an alarm, her skin returned to its natural, naked, beautiful blue. She emitted a snakelike hiss as she kicked the redhead in the chest, bowling him straight into the arms of one of his countrymen.

She backed up, one step at a time, as Kahane's men regrouped and prepared to attack her. She had chosen her position in the group to leave open escape routes. Not more than ten feet behind her. she knew without looking, there was an alleyway. It was being monitored from above by Azazel. If she entered the alleyway, he would teleport down and grab her away. If she was in over her head, that was what she was supposed to do.

She eyed her foes. She was outnumbered by about twenty-eight or nine to one, and her only weapons were her hands and feet and a plastic club. On the other hand, the League was a bunch of local hoodlums with no serious martial training, and she was absolutely certain that none of them was dumb enough to risk a gun with Magneto in town. All in all, she decided, the odds were about even. She stopped backing away and prepared to give the other signal to her watching comrades.

She planted her heels firmly on the pavement, rocked forward, and in a fluid motion sprang straight at the first of the thirty. Her baton bashing his skull was the signal. Azazel appeared at Mystique's back with his swords at the ready. Together, they fought. 

"Couldn't blend in with a bunch of Jews?" Magneto asked her as he slowly descended to street level atop a thin platform of steel. 

"Couldn't stand to try for too long," she retorted, while executing a perfect roundhouse kick that knocked back two of the humans and positioned her with the space to really move. "They speak this filthy language, it's like German but worse. They sound like a bunch of rats trying to speak German. Look out!"

Magneto's smirk was erased by a baton blow to the head that knocked his helmet off. Oh yes, Mystique thought, today was going to be fun.

The newspaper clippings boasted of Kahane's judo training and his legendary discipline and power. Standing across from him on the field of battle, Mystique could see that these claims were exaggerated. His stance was awkward and unbalanced, presenting her with almost too many opportunities to topple him. She was feinting to draw him even further off-balance when Magneto stepped in front of her. 

"I'll take care of him, darling," he said in a voice that didn't remind her of Erik. Mystique shrugged and drifted away in pursuit of other targets. There weren't too many left. Five or six lay on the ground, bleeding out from fatal stab wounds from Azazel. Another half dozen had been knocked unconscious by Mystique's baton and feet. Most of the rest had scattered as soon as the fight got real, or as soon as the news cameras started filming. 

She decided to stand back and watch. She transformed herself into one of the news reporters she'd seen on TV the night before and slipped back into the alley where Azazel had also regrouped. 

"Why isn't he throwing that steel garbage can at the asshole?" Azazel asked. 

She struggled with her answer, as the two men tossed a series of jabs, more verbal than pugilistic, at each other. 

"You're a disgrace to your nation. You have forgotten what it means to be chosen. You have forsaken your responsibilities and your God," Kahane shouted at Magneto.

"You, a mere human, dare speak that way to me?" Magneto replied.

Finally, she responded. "It's a family affair. I think that our leader has forgotten if his name is Erik or Magneto."

Azazel shook his head from side to side in comprehension. "It can be confusing." Kahane landed a lucky blow to Magneto's unmasked face, bloodying his nose.

"We'll let him get revenge for that punch and then you'll carry him away, okay? The reporters have gotten plenty of footage and there's no need to turn the bastard into a martyr." Azazel nodded. "We've sent the message we needed to send. It's time to move on."

**Author's Note:**

> Rabbi Meir Kahane stands unquestionably among the influences on Magneto's character, particularly in XMFC, where Erik is given Kahane's famous motto "Never Again" . Kahane is an immensely difficult, complicated figure in modern Jewish history who stirs up strong emotional responses in a lot of people. I definitely do not want these stories to be understood in any way as an endorsement of either Magneto's choices or of Kahane's choices. But I'm not so sure that I want them to be understood as condemning Magneto or Kahane, either. I'd be satisfied if these stories opened up the dialogue along new channels. I'd be happy if all we got from reading these stories was a conversation about who the winner actually was: Was it the Brotherhood, as Mystique believes, for proving that Mutants fight back when threatened? Was it Kahane, for proving to the world that Mutants are violent monsters and the JDL is willing to sacrifice to challenge them? Was it Charles, who got to deliver his lecture in peace and neutralized two violent groups by pitting them against each other?
> 
> There are many things about these stories I find unsettling, but above all is the fact that I cannot answer that question.


End file.
